Mr. Blanc's Class

I am not assigning any homework over the break for students. I will be sending home a Winter Reading Log so students can tally the number of minutes they read over the break. There is no expectation for number of minutes read, in fact, it's not even required that they return the log. However, the student who returns their reading log and has the most minutes read over the break will win a very small prize and be our first member on the Wall of Fame in the new year. The same will go with math in Moby Max. There won't be any required amount of time, but the student who does the most minutes of math on Moby Max will get a very small prize and be on the Wall of Fame. I am able to monitor Moby Max minutes online, so there won't be any recording logs to keep track of time.  Here is the link to access Moby Max http://www.mobymax.com/or1248. On Friday, the students took a four minute multiplication fact test. Overall, I was excited to see the improvement of the ...

The expert books are due on Thursday, 12/18. For a student to be on track they should have all of their rough drafts complete and edited when they arrive to school on Monday. Next week we will focus on typing and putting together the books. It would also be good for students to print pictures from home if that is possible. We have to share the computer lab with the whole school, so we have some limited availability there. As we get going next week some students may need to spend time at home typing if it looks like they won't be able to finish the typing during class time. Please check in with your student and see where they are. Below is a progression of how the project should be completed. This project will not have a presentation component, the students will just be creating their books. Thursday, 12/11 - Students should be done with rough drafts. Friday, 12,12 - Students should be done editing. Weekend - Students begin gathering pictures they want to use. Mond...

On Monday, 12/8 students will have spelling packets and reading logs due. They will also take their spelling test over the words from their spelling packet.  Students will begin writing their expert books on Monday. They were sent home with an overview of the assignment as well as the rubric that will be used to score their books. Each student needs to use at least three sources of information and at least one of those sources must be a book. Every student has either told me they have a book, or I have a book on the way from the library for them. The expert books will be due on Thursday, 12/18.  In math students have been continuing to use multiplication. They have been solving multi-step word problems using multiplication. These problems are similar to those done at the start of the year with addition and subtraction. In addition to getting the correct answer, students are showing their work with numbers, pictures, and words. On Thursday, 12/11 we will be taking the ...

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving Break. I enjoyed the extra time with family, but I'm excited about getting back with the students on Tuesday! Quick reminder that there are no spelling packets or reading logs due when students return on Tuesday, 12/2. However, there will be spelling packets and reading logs due the following Monday, 12/8.  We will start the week on Module 3, Lesson 11 in math. Students have used area models, the partial products method, and the standard algorithm to solve multiplication problems. This week they will use these skills to solve multiplication word problems. A big focus on these word problems is showing your work with pictures, numbers, and words. In addition to our math lessons, our fact practice with focus on multiplying by 4's this week. To be considered proficient at multiplying by 4's, students will need to get at least 20 correct answers in one minute. Ask your student if they reached proficiency at the end of the week.  Studen...

I hope you have had a chance to look at the previous blog post. There are pictures from the Continent Club Check and Art Literacy. Both of those activities are run by parents and they are both great experiences for the students. Thank you to everyone who works to make those programs so meaningful to the kids! With the Thanksgiving Holiday coming up, there will only be school on Monday and Tuesday next week. Because it is such a short week there will be no reading logs or spelling packets due when students return on Tuesday, 12/2. The students will be returning on Tuesday, 12/2, because Monday, 12/1, is a Grading Day. We have been integrating the writing and social studies curriculum. The students have been learning about the Lewis and Clark Expedition and informational writing. At this point in our study of the Corps of Discovery, the explorers have just finished building Fort Mandan, which is where they will stay during the winter months of 1804-1805. They have already lost one me...